


Bridging an estuary

by Nova_Moshi



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Elderbug is mentioned but not exactly here, Gen, Lots and Lots of Flowers, More sibling fluff because we deserve to see these two being happy, also flowers, everyone is new to emotions leave the babies alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 18:18:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17513534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nova_Moshi/pseuds/Nova_Moshi
Summary: Hornet wants to repay the Knight's act of kindness.





	Bridging an estuary

**Author's Note:**

> Hello I am still not over this game and it's characters.
> 
> I feel like Hornet wants to show her affection to Ghost, but?? How??? I wouldn't think she's good at displaying any kind of emotion that isn't static
> 
> Oh well that's what writing is for!

“What’s this little Ghost?”

Hornet took the boquet of flowers and wildgrasses from her sibling, taking a moment to breathe in its fragrant aroma. 

_Gift. Wanted to get you something nice._

“You didn’t have to go through the trouble,” She muttered. It was hard for the normally stoic bug-hybrid to show her gratitude- or even simple affection for that matter- to anyone. Ghost was the only soul she dared to even try with.

Maybe it was because they were family, or maybe because of their limited emotions she wouldn’t be embarrassed if she said the wrong thing. Ghost was never one to criticize her, although sometimes they did question her choices of wanting to be alone. Apparently going out to someplace far away from any sign of life was foreign to them. Otherwise, the vessel much preferred to be in her quiet presence than start up a conversation themselves.

Ghost swug their legs from where they both sat at Hallownest’s crown. A sign Hornet had come to recognize as them being quite happy.

_No trouble. Hornet like gift?_

If their happiness wasn’t conveyed in movement, it was certainly present in the waves of euphoria that washed over her mind as they talked. She chuckled, using her free hand to scratch under their chin.

“Of course I do. Thank you for this display of kindness sibling mine.”

The resulting garbled purrs that stemmed from their chest made Hornet smile. Ghost was simply too endearing. It was a marvel anyone tried to bring harm upon them.

Besides herself of course. She was simply doing her job as the protector of Hallownest.

_Glad. Asked White Lady if you’d like the flowers._

Hornet glanced from the bouquet to Ghost. _I thought these flowers looked familiar._ She thought with a small smile.

“She helped you pick them out?”

They shook their head.

“You picked them out yourself then.”

A prideful nod.

“Fascinating.” Hornet murmured, delicately feeling and caressing the many petals in her possession.

They sat in comfortable silence for a long while after that. It had appeared to Hornet that her sibling had fallen into sleep, their head tilted downwards as their chest silently heaved. They looked peaceful, or at least as peaceful as a being made out of void could be.

Subconsciously she reached out her hand and clasped theirs, intertwining their fingers and holding them tight.

She wanted to repay this act of unadulterated kindness, and would not rest until she did.

□□□

Hornet hadn’t visited the White Lady in some considerable amount of time. She felt no need to check up on her adoptive mother, for the ethereal being would always be there, trapped in her own domain. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t care, the White Lady had taken care of her when Herrah couldn’t, taught her about the world lush beneath her feet, comforted her when the grief of her mother was too much to bear, but that only meant it was harder to see her held captive by her own means. She stayed away so that the pain wouldn’t cloud her mind, so that the pain of caring wouldn’t weigh her down.

“Nngh..” The girl shook her head. Dwelling too much on the situation wasn’t going to help any. 

“Just talk to her and leave…” Hornet stepped inside the cocoon, steeling any other timid nerves before she began her descent. “Simple as threading.”

Everyone could feel the White Lady before they saw her. As soon as Hornet stepped out of the passageway into her chamber, she was bathed in a mixture of light and pure, regal energy. For a brief moment she drank in her beauty before walking forward.

Pale blue eyes opened in brilliance, and her warm laughter filled the air.

“Ah so the Gendered child too has sought me out. What an occurrence, both youth of void appear in such a short time! Sit young one, I can tell you will stay a while.”

Hornet hesitated, but the soft nudge of a root near her feet gave her the strength to walk up. Upon carefully seating herself in her lap, Hornet felt some previously unaccounted for unease melt away.

She must have noticed this too, for she shifted in her bindings in a fruitless effort to make the visitor in her lap more comfortable.

“You must relax child. This stress is not good for you.” Her voice held twinges of worry in it.

“I understand, and I _will_ , but I did not come here to unwind.” She folded her legs underneath her. “I came to ask about- about the vessel. The vessel that freed The Hollow Knight.”

Simply saying _“My sibling,”_ would have gotten the point across equally as well, but Hornet resigned to being more formal.

The Lady’s eyes lit up. “Interested in your kin? My, they are certainly a vessel that defies the impossible.”

Hornet nodded, “Indeed. At first I thought them just another survivor, one weak enough to cheat death and then meet their end by my needle.” She didn’t notice the hurt flash through The Lady’s eyes. “Yet I see now they are more than that. More than the mindless husk my father made them to be.”

This time Hornet noticed. At the mention of the Pale King The Lady’s aura faltered for the tiniest of moments. Hornet pat her lap, silently apologizing for bringing up her late husband.

“I do not understand the intricacies of them, more often than not they’re surprising me everyday with their new emotions, but I do understand them enough to know they care about me. More than I deserve if I’m being honest.” Her voice lowered with that statement. “But I must ask,”

She took a second to breathe.

“What would they enjoy if I were to... _give_ them a _gift._ To show my gratitude of course.”

The Lady chuckled, “The Gendered child wishes to please her sibling. My how much you’ve grown. I can see that you've come out of your shell more, wishing to make your kin happy. It is a gesture they will surely appreciate.”

Hornet felt her face rising in temperature. Praise was just as alien to her as affection.

“Thank you.” She whispered, eliciting another laugh from her adoptive mother.

“I am sure they will enjoy any gift you give them, large or small. The void child loves you without a heart. That alone is a gift they cherish from you. The ability to love.”

□□□

It had been a day prior that visit, and Hornet had been busy ever since. Of course she couldn't allow Ghost to ruin the surprise of their own gift, so she told them to hang around Quirrel while she tended to ‘important’ matters.

There was no telling the scholarly bug either, his heart was in the right place but he was no good at keeping secrets.

As she diligently worked together her needle and thread Hornet couldn't contain her own pulses of excitement. The feelings Ghost projected in her mind as she thanked them for their gift were next to impossible to replicate. The sheer amount of joy was enough to make her smile even as she worked. She could only imagine how they would feel now.

“There, perfect.” Hornet set down her handiwork, admiring her job before dashing off to find her sibling. Hopefully they hadn't moved from Dirtmouth to have an escapade in the meantime. Trying to find them anywhere in the Kingdom was a journey she was not willing to have at the moment.

She decided to use her own means of navigation and travel on foot rather than call upon the Old Stag. Walking wouldn't be as fast, but there was more scenery to see from Greenpath and back.

Once she came to the now peaceful crossroads and climbed up the well, the bitter chill of the outside winds reminded her that seasons were most certainly an occurrence. Now the warmth of summer and the breezes of autumn could grace every bug in the kingdom once again. Perhaps it would even snow if they were lucky.

Hornet walked up the dusty roads and found Ghost and Quirrel resting at the bench. Or rather, Ghost was resting and Quirrel was reading beside them.

Perhaps her gift could be kept a secret for a tad longer.

“Good evening Quirrel. I can see you have your hands full.” 

Her friend startled from his word-ridden trance, before laughing at his own jumpiness. 

“You _must_ quit scaring me like that Hornet. I don't know if my fragile heart can take much more of it.” Quirrel chuckled, patting his own shell.

“I hadn't realized you’d become as old as Elderbug.” Hornet snorted, stepping closer to the sleeping figure of Ghost. “How long have they been out for?”

Quirrel had rolled his eyes at her snide remark. “Almost three hours, must not have gotten enough sleep at night. I'm worried for them in that regard.” 

Hornet mumbled something he couldn't hear. “It wouldn't hurt to ask them you know?”

“Yes but what if I don’t get a proper answer?”

Ironically, she had no answer for that.

Before the silence could stretch on to become something uncomfortable Hornet reached down to gently pick up her still sleeping sibling, bidding Quirrel farewell as she turned heel and left. If Ghost stayed asleep until they got to Greenpath perhaps she could change them both…

It didn’t take long for Hornet to arrive at her destination with her charge. She quickly set them down and unwound the cloak from their shoulders, slipping another in its place. This one had flowers of many kinds stitched along its fabric, adorning the soft surface with a beautiful pattern of nature. Of course, it didn’t have the powers of the mothwing cloak, but that didn’t make it any less special.

After folding up her sibling’s garment, Hornet slipped on her own, doing an experimental twirl to see the flower imbued cloth flow around her. She prided herself on a job well done, smiling to herself inwardly. She truly hoped Ghost liked her gift.

There was another half to it, but that would be revealed after Ghost woke up. So Hornet waited, thinking waking them prematurely wouldn’t be quite healthy for them, if what Quirrel said held true. They needed all the sleep they could get.

Hornet decided to pass the time by humming a small tune she had heard in her childhood. She had never sung before, as there had been no reason or motivation, but it did interest her. She considered her voice pleasant enough, and on one wayward occasion had even heard that distant songstress sing in the Pleasure House. It was a hauntingly beautiful melody, one that stuck with her for as long as she dared stay in the City of Tears. Perhaps, one day she would try to sing…

The tiniest of rustling caught her attention, and Hornet turned to see her little sibling stirring. She stepped over to cover the holes in their mask, chuckling only slightly as they groggily brought their hands up and over hers in confusion. 

The vessel seemed to recognize that she was no threat, and tilted their head up in her general direction before cocking it to the side. 

“Rise and shine my little sibling. I hope you’ve slept well.”

She could feel waves of amusement wash over her mind. Ghost was truly happy in her presence.

_Slept good. Hornet ok? Miss Hornet._

“Yes yes I’m fine,” She stood up, still keeping her hands firmly over their mask. “I apologize for leaving you be for so long but I didn’t want you to see….this.”

She removed her hands and found herself flushing. Carefully Hornet gripped the edges of her dress and bowed in a curtsey. If Grimm were here he would say she looked to be initiating a dance.

Only problem being that she couldn’t quite dance either.

If that blush had been a figment of her imagination before, it certainly wasn’t now. Hornet wasn’t prepared for all the happiness and euphoria that crashed into her mind all at once. Ghost had stood up, their hands on their mask in silent awe. One of those hands reached out to try and caress the soft fabric, but stopped when they noticed their own cape.

_Oh! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Flowers!_

They grasped their cape and brought the beauties closer to their mask. _Pretty flowers! Pretty!_

“That’s not all the flowers,” Hornet grabbed her other gift from behind a bush, cradling it gently in her arms.

Ghost’s euphoria couldn’t have spiked any higher.

_Flower! Crown! Flower Crown!_

They flapped their arms in a fast paced manner, gushing out emotions as Hornet placed the elegant accessory over their horns. It was a tad larger than expected however, and fell down over their shoulders. Hornet giggled, mending the situation by draping it over just one horn.

“Do you like it?” She placed one over her own head. “I used as many different flowers as I could find in the Queen’s Gardens. Even-”

She hadn’t noticed Ghost tearing up as they stared at the centerpiece of their crown.

_Delicate…_

In a burst of speed that even the mothwing cloak couldn’t replicate, Ghost jumped into her arms, emitting waves of adoration and…

_Love it. Love sister’s gift._

They snuggled into her chest, wrapping their tiny arms around her as far as they could go.

Hornet herself felt near on the edge of tears. She sat down on the plush grass and hugged her sibling back. She didn’t know how to express it out loud, but she enjoyed this feeling. This feeling of happiness, this love.

“And I love you Ghost.” Hornet murmured, feeling her heart swell.

She was sure if Ghost too had a heart, it would beat to the tune of hers. In unison and full of affection.

Hopefully, in time, they could both understand these emotions together.


End file.
